Welcome to Thursday Morning, Orlando!
Fully stocked newsletter = happy readers. Enjoy the issue AND your upcoming weekend! Hopefully, not too many of you have to work through it.
Orlando Oddity (perhaps a new section in the newsletter??). Apparently, 100 hot dogs were stolen from University High School the other day. Under the guise of “Orlando, keepin’ it weird,” even the crime here is weird!
Now, in today’s issue:
- Our Orlando
- Dear Reader
- Rhapsodic
- + lots of weekend recs
Did a neighbor forward this to you? Subscribe here.
Let’s roll!
- Philip
P.S. Want some hawt community sourced foodie recommendations? Check out the Orlando Signal Restaurant Guide, right here.
P.P.S. Check out tons of open Orlando area jobs at the Orlando Signal Job Board, right here.
🍍 Pineapple Farms. Lakeside Views.
Really Good Brunch.
Hang and Learn!
Ivanhoe Village didn't always look like this. What's now one of Orlando's most vibrant Main Street districts started life as pineapple farming country. And somehow it turned into a neighborhood full of locally owned restaurants, colorful murals, and food worth getting out of bed for.
The Orlando Signal Ivanhoe Village Foodie Tour: Brunch Edition is happening Saturday, May 23rd (10:30am–1:30pm), a guided 3-hour walk through the neighborhood with 5 tasting stops and the stories that make it all make sense.
Brunch bites, local sips, sweet treats, and a side of history you didn't know you needed. All at a pace that actually lets you enjoy it.
🌊 Lake views and great company are part of the deal too.
👉 Get the full scoop, right here, and grab your spot before it's gone.
3 QUICK NEWS BITS ⏲️
Three Artists, One City as “Our Orlando” Returns to the Mennello
May 15th marks the return of Our Orlando at the Mennello Museum of American Art, and the fourth installment is shaping up to be its liveliest yet.
Since debuting in 2017, the show has grown into one of Orlando's most beloved platforms for local artists, and the 2026 revival is pulling out all the stops.
Steamin Jazz is on the music, Runway Catering is handling the food, and three artists are ready to make their mark. Tasanee Durrett's unbroken lines dig into identity and history within the Black Diaspora.
Martha Jo Mahoney splashes emotional memories of nature across canvas in dynamic color. Mado Smith celebrates the human figure living its best life alongside the natural world.
Public reception kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
Storm Season Survival Starts Now, Especially If You're a Senior
Every June, Florida holds its breath.
Hurricane season doesn't care about your plans, and for older residents, preparation runs a lot deeper than bottled water and flashlights. Ventilators need power. Medications need refrigeration. Wheelchairs don't do flooded streets.
Orange County's Office on Aging has a simple message: don't wait. Build that seven-day supply of prescriptions, food and water now, before storm names start trending on social media.
Special Needs shelters exist for residents requiring medical equipment or extra support, but registration through Orange County Emergency Management needs to happen first.
A little planning now beats a lot of panic later.
👉 Check out the Orange County Office on Aging, right here.
Dirt Cheap, Life Changing
In Holden Heights, a donated patch of Orange County dirt is about to become somebody's front yard, roughly 25 somebodies, if all goes to plan.
Turns out the secret to affordable housing might just be giving away the land beneath it.
The county doubled down in December, pushing $1.5 million through its housing trust fund to help Habitat Orlando and Osceola snap up more parcels, enough to potentially add 20 to 30 homes across Central Florida.
Shovels won't hit the ground until late 2027, and families won't be picking out paint colors until 2028 or 2029.
But for people locked out of a housing market that's been anything but welcoming, getting on the waitlist has never felt this promising.
(Learn a ton more about the land donation putting 25 families closer to home with Bryanna Howard, right here)
WEEKEND SPOT HIGHLIGHT 🔦
Sunflower Festival
Source: Amber Brooke Farms
📍Amber Brooke Farms. 36111 County Rd 44A, Eustis, FL 32736. Map to this location.
🕐 Saturday, May 16th & Sunday, May 17th, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
There's something quietly magical about walking into a field of sunflowers, and Amber Brooke Farms in Eustis, Florida is about to deliver exactly that.
The annual Sunflower Festival packs a full day into one admission: all-you-can-eat grilled sweet corn, a sunflower maze, live music, face painting, 25+ farm attractions, and animal experiences that include capybaras and camel rides.
U-pick sunflowers, zinnias, and blueberries are available at additional cost.
Tickets are cheap, and ages two and under get in free.
👉 Check It Out
TOP 3 FUN RECS FOR THE WEEKEND 🍊
Dear Reader: A Bookish Market
Source: 2 Girls and a Market
📍Easy Luck Coffee & Bodega. 2425 E South St, Orlando, FL 32803. Map to this location.
🕐 Sunday, May 17th 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
If your idea of a perfect Sunday involves coffee, browsing, and the quiet thrill of discovery, 2 Girls and a Market has designed exactly that.
Dear Reader: A Bookish Market takes over Easy Luck Coffee & Bodega, bringing together local vendors selling books, art, and literary-inspired goods, all while specialty drinks flow and giveaways sweeten the morning. Low-pressure, high-charm, and built for readers.
Clear your Sunday.
👉 Get more info, right here
Mia Vassilev Presents Rhapsodic
Source: Mia Vassilev
📍Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts. 460 E New England Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Map to this location.
🕐 Friday, May 15th, 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Mia Vassilev, dubbed the Mistress of the 88 Keys and "Liberace and Jerry Lee Lewis wrapped up in a ballgown," brings her acclaimed show RHAPSODIC to the Blue Bamboo.
The decade-hopping, genre-crossing production journeys through boogie-woogie, Latin rhythms, rock 'n' roll, and polka, anchored by a dazzling Gershwin tribute woven through Rhapsody in Blue.
The evening's crown jewel: the world debut of a piece begun by Liberace's own conductor, Arte Azenze, unperformed since Liberace's passing in the 1980s. Forty years in the making.
One night to hear it.
👉 Get the full details
In Patriotic Fashion: The Fun and Quirky Side of Centennial Celebrations
Source: Orange County Regional History Center
📍Orange County Regional History Center. 65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801. Map to this location.
🕐 Sunday, May 17th, 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
America turns 250, and fashion historian Bonnie Hansen is ready to party like it's 1776.
She's raiding her personal collection of bicentennial clothing, souvenirs, and the most gloriously over-the-top patriotic kitsch you've never seen, all for her upcoming Brechner Speaker Series talk.
Think star-spangled everything, from fashion trends to commemorative fire hydrants.
Dig out your own bicentennial treasures and bring them along. Free with registration. 🎉
👉 Check it out, right here
THIS WEEKENDS HAPPENINGS 🎭 🥁
Presented by CFCArts Symphony Orchestra: Go ahead, hum the Jaws theme. You know you want to.
American Maestro: The Music of John Williams is exactly what it sounds like, a full-blown, 350+ musician celebration of the greatest film scores ever written. Star Wars. Indiana Jones. Harry Potter. E.T. All of it, played live with theatrical lighting and cinematic visuals that'll make your jaw drop.
Bring your inner movie nerd NEXT Thursday, May 22nd at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, May 23rd at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at Northland Church.
Tickets are going fast, just saying.
Tap/Click here for more info & grab tix
Multi-day
UCF Knights Baseball vs. Kansas State University Wildcats Men's Baseball | Fri & Sat | UCF | More
The Breakfast Reunion | Sat & Sun | Ivanhoe Village | More
Escape Room: It’s Just a Game | Fri, Sat, Sun | Ivanhoe Village | More
Friday
🔥 Orlando Gay Chorus: Fierce & Fabulous: Celebrating LGBTQ+ Artists | 7:30 p.m. | Sanford | More
Night Light by Bryan Sherbrook | 6 p.m. | Mills 50 | More
OBL Hoops | 6 p.m. | Oak Ridge | More
Sulynn Hago, Big Sad, Like Father | 8 p.m. | Mills 50 | More
Blue Man Group | 5 & 8 p.m. | I-Drive | More
Saturday
🔥 Eat The Mic Business Network Showcase | 4 p.m. | I-Drive | More
A Decade of Divas | 7:30 p.m. | City District | More
Thrive and Vibe Fitness Flight and Wellness Fest | 9 a.m. | Kissimmee | More
Their Eyes Were Watching God: The Legacy of Zora Neale Hurston | 1 p.m. | Eatonville | More
Voice and Flame | 4 p.m. | City District | More
Hello Sister, Seneca Burns, Sarah Mootz, Zozingbo | 7 p.m. | Audubon Park | More
Chuwi | 7 p.m. | City District | More
United Groove | 9 p.m. | Mills 50 | More
Sistas Who Kill | 8 p.m. | Milk District | More
Sunday
Character Painting Workshop with David Buckley | 11 a.m. | Milk District | More
Central Florida Film Slam | 12 p.m. | Maitland | More
Kids Trivia | 1 p.m. | Thornton Park | More
Kel Perez | 6 p.m. | I-Drive | More
Steel Crows, Fortune Child, Little Lazy, Magi | 7 p.m. | Mills 50 | More
Atomic Life, Please Be Kind, Burial Joy | 7 p.m. | Audubon Park | More
🎭 Have an event to share?Submit it here.
THANKS!
🧠Interested in reaching smart Orlando readers like you? Grow with us right here.
🌟 Know a community superstar? Tell me about them, right here.
We’ll see you on Monday.
My Best,
Philip - Publisher, Orlando Signal
